Old enemies and New allies
by Eagle Alchemist
Summary: Life on Berk can be trying. But choices and events are going to test both Hiccup and Astrid and rekindle an old rivalry. Will they be able to win this time? How will this change their lives? And where will the new allies come from? Excitement and emotion abound in this story of life after How To Train Your Dragon 2! Part 4 of my HTTYD Saga.


**Authors note:** _Hey all! So here it is, my longer How To Train Your Dragon fanfic. This one follows my short smut fic Loves First Touch. I put a lot of thought into much of this story and I hope you all enjoy it. This story is my own vision of what life could be like many years after the second movie._

_Hope ya'll like it!_

_Eagle._

~~~~~~~~~~xxxxx~~~~~~~~~~

**Old enemies and New Allies**

_By Eagle Alchemist_

The island of Berk.

High rocky cliffs and woodlands enclosing the village between. A place of peace between Humans and Dragons. It all began twenty seven years previous when Hiccup, son of Stoic the Vast, dared to defy the norm.

By befriending a dragon.

Now he was chief after the tragic death of his father twenty two years ago during the battle with Drago Bludvist. His best friend, the Night Fury he'd named Toothless, was now Alfa Dragon and the two were now firmly set in their respective leadership roles. Man and Dragon. Though he'd lost his father, Hiccup had found his mother and she was now village elder. Two years after Stoic's death, Gothi's last task as elder before journeying to Valhalla was to preside over the marriage of Hiccup and Astrid. Over the following six years the village was rebuilt and the statue of Stoic completed. In the midst of daily duties as chief, Hiccup also became a father. Astrid gave birth to a daughter two years after their marriage, whom they named Kitta.

Now, it was mid summer on Berk and the village was a buzz of activity. Fishing boats were hauling in their catches. Work shops bustled with people ordering saddles and other wares. Children ran a muck in the sunshine, baby dragons flying after them. Preparations were in full swing for the annual Dragon Triathlon, where riders and dragons from various families of Berk competed in speed, agility and shooting to win the now coveted trophy. Astrid was making her way to the old Academy where Fishlegs and his son Brock were working on the finer details of the race. She had grown her hair longer, till it reached her waist. One thick braid keeping it in check. Her outfit hadn't changed much, the skirt a little longer and her top was now a much lighter red. As she passed through the village greeting people along the way, she was keeping a watchful eye out...for her daughter. Once she had checked in with Fishlegs, Astrid would stop by the docks where her husband was overseeing things. Her hope was that Hiccup had seen Kitta.

Unlike his father, Hiccup had chosen to keep his face relatively smooth. Just a dusting of stubble to be seen. His hair was a little longer and every bit as dishevelled as when he was twenty. He wore clothing that could have been mistaken as identical to those of his twenties, but to the trained eye it was clearly an upgraded version. Kitta was every bit the product of her parents. Tall like her father, with the same observant green eyes that missed little and the slender feminine figure like her mother, her hair was golden blonde and unkempt. She was fearless just like Astrid. That was mixed with a healthy dose of compassion and creativity from Hiccup, whom could never bring himself to deny her the freedom to make whatever her mind could conjure. But her one and unwavering desire, her parents would not allow.

Her own swift dragon.

She had wanted one like Stormfly or Toothless since she could walk. But that was something they wouldn't allow her. Yet. Their reasoning...she had the same bad habit of worrying her parents as Hiccup had as a boy. Due to such a habit they had given her but two options...ride a Groncle or no dragon at all. Kitta had inherited her fathers gift with understanding dragons. At the adorable age of six she had trained a baby Terrible Terror. It still followed her everywhere like a puppy. Many of the villagers had noted that Scrap seemed to be her only friend, besides Brock Ingerman that is. All the other teens in the village teased and taunted her, because she had no dragon to ride. Even so Kitta never gave up hope that one day she could change her parents minds. Another trait she had inherited from her father.

Then she would show those bullies.

Kitta wore and outfit of her own making. Black fur topped boots with green pants and a light weight brown skirt of plain leather. Her top was black and her forearms were covered in bands and fur to match her boots. She also wore leather shoulder plates just as her father did with the same crest upon them too. A tan colored headband finished her ensemble. And she was currently AWOL from the village. Shaking her head, Astrid entered the academy thinking just how much Kitta took after Hiccup.

"Fishlegs how are the preparations going?" She asked stopping by the table.

"We are around seventy four percent done, Astrid. This years Triathlon is set to be the most fun one yet." Fishlegs beamed proudly.

"Nice job. How about the targets for the shooting round? Remember they need to be tougher this year." She told him.

"Dad and I came up with some great ideas. Some of the targets this year are moving ones." Brock boasted "My idea."

"Oh really? Please tell me they aren't sheep." Astrid frowned, thinking of the worst.

"Nope, they are small specially built boats. We set them adrift. Makes it tougher to hit." Brock replied, gaining a pat on the back from his father.

"I see that sounds great. I'll leave you guys to it then." She turned to leave then looked over her shoulder "Brock, have you seen Kitta today?"

"I saw her this morning. She and Scrap were at Gobber's." Brock said, then added "But I haven't seen her since."

"Why am I not surprised..." Astrid said under her breath "Thanks for that. Keep up the good work."

Leaving the Ingerman men to their work, Astrid headed for the docks. Something occurred to her as she made her way down to sea level...Stormfly had wandered off a short time ago. Just when the pang of fear began to take hold of her heart, she saw Toothless and Hiccup helping with the offloading of the days catch...and there was Stormfly assisting. That moment of panic faded.

"Thank Thor." She muttered to herself.

With a low thud the batch of barrels were set on a cart, before being pulled up the hill. Toothless landed and Hiccup dismounted. The moment he saw Astrid's face he knew, their daughter was missing again.

"So how long has it been today?" He asked.

"From what I can tell, all day this time. Brock saw her this morning at Gobber's, but after that nothing."

"Look..." Hiccup took her hands and their eyes met "I'm sure she's fine. She doesn't have a dragon yet so can't get into too much trouble."

"Hiccup, you got into plenty of it before you met Toothless." Astrid frowned at him.

"Okay okay, but she isn't an out of place small kid like I was. She's smart and tough just like you, milady." He kissed her cheek.

"That may be so Hiccup, but she's also always inventing things just like you, and that worries me. Not all the things you invented at her age worked too well. Remember?" She countered.

With a sigh of defeat, he simply smiled at his wife. She wouldn't stop worrying and though he hid it well, he wouldn't either. A compromise was needed. As if on cue the very thing, or rather person, they needed flew by. Brock Ingerman on his dragon Rubble. A Groncle like his fathers beloved Meatlug.

"Brock!" Hiccup shouted.

Turning on a dime, Rubble set down next to Toothless. Brock approached.

"You need me for something chief?"

"Yes. Would you take a fly round the island and find Kitta please?" Hiccup asked.

"You got it chief. I'll bring her home." Brock replied, mounting Rubble and heading off.

"There. Problem solved. Brock is a respectable young man and we can trust he'll bring her home safe."

"Fishlegs did raise him well." Astrid agreed.

"That, and he has a huge crush on our daughter." Hiccup smiled "A guarantee that he'll do as we ask rather than let Kitta push him into something else."

"Because he's trying to impress the chief."

"And the chief's wife." Hiccup winked.

~~~~~xxxx~~~~~

On the far side of the island at the secluded beach, Kitta tinkered with her latest project. For all intents purposes it looked like a simple boat. A rather small one at that. But there were a number of peculiar items made from metal aboard it and beside it. Scrap was perched at the stern, playing lookout as Kitta fastened things with makeshift tools. In the back of her mind was the one thought that, if her parents saw this, they would surely take away her creating privileges. Mother hitting the roof would have been an understatement. Of the many things she made, some were not as well received as others. The villagers had been uncertain about the fishing net launcher until the results proved it worked. But they hadn't been as impressed with her invention to speed up the production of smoked fish...that had ended in flames. Literally. The smoke house had burned to the ground. As she worked on tightening a bolt, Scrap alerted her to someone coming. Looking up with her heart in her throat, she breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Rubble and Brock land nearby.

"I thought you might have been my parents." She put down her tool "Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry wasn't my intention babe." Brock dismounted and walked over to look at her project "So how is it coming?"

"Well not too bad right now. Needs testing though." Kitta explained wiping her hands on her pants.

"You sure this is gonna work?"

"Yes. Maybe."

"Oh that's convincing." Brock laughed.

"Hey!" Kitta punched his arm "Your meant to be on my side, remember."

"Ow. Yeah I know and I am." Slinging an arm around her, Brock pulled her close "That's why I didn't tell your mom that I knew where to find you when she asked."

"Oh man." Kitta rolled her eyes "Was she mad? Lemme guess my dad sent you to find me and bring me home, right?"

"Bingo."

"I don't get it. Why is it they are so protective and yet they were more reckless than I am when they were my age?" She asked no one in particular.

"Come on babe cut them a little slack. They care about you and you do have a pretty bad track record with things going wrong." He explained, earning an elbow to the gut this time.

"My track record is just fine, thank you."

"The smoke house didn't go too well..." He said.

"Not my fault! I told them not to overheat the tank."

"The automatic Yak milker was a disaster..."

"That was a mechanical error. I could have fixed it with a few tweaks." She insisted.

"Then there was that newfangled oven thing you said would cook any food better than a fire pit could."

"Okay okay I get it!" She snapped "I've made a few small mistakes."

"Small?"

"Watch it." She warned, fist at the ready and eyes blazing like a furious dragons.

"Alright alright." Hands raised in surrender Brock backed down.

Realising if she didn't go back with Brock now her parents would come looking themselves, she covered her project and packed up her tools. With Scrap already in the air, Brock lifted her onto Rubble's back and got on in front of her. Kitta held on as they took flight. Brock only resembled his father slightly, being leaner and more agile, but having the same Ingerman love of knowledge. Blond hair that half covered his ears and clear blue eyes were coupled with a strong jawline and smooth face. Her parents were aware of how Brock felt about her. She had yet to let on she also felt that way about him. It was their secret for the time being. By the time they arrived back in the village, the sun was almost gone beyond the horizon. Dusk made everything look different somehow. Every house had smoke flowing from the chimney and the scent of food rising into the air. Kitta began to mentally prepare herself for the grilling that was to come. Rubble set down outside her house, just beside the sleeping areas for her parents dragons.

"So we still on for tonight?" Brock asked as she got down.

"Yeah. I wouldn't miss it."

"Sure you can sneak out without them knowing?" He already knew she could, but it was fun to push that particular button.

"Ha ha. Can a Nadder hit the bullseye every time?" She scowled at him, oh she knew his game.

"So I've heard." He laughed, before taking to the air "See you tonight then."

Kitta watched him go, before heading inside. She attempted to sneak in via the dragons rooms. Scrap silently scuttled after her. She made it just a few steps up toward her room before she was caught.

"Kitta." Came the stern voice of her mother.

"Damn. Busted." She muttered to herself, before reluctantly changing direction.

Passing the main fire pit, she made her way toward the room her parents often relaxed in with Toothless and Stormfly. Each dragon was lain like a faithful dog might beside their owners. Astrid was repairing the edge of her shield and Hiccup was sketching in his book as a fire crackled behind them for warmth and light. Before daring to say a thing to her parents, Kitta greeted both Stormfly and Toothless. They were no different than any other family member to her. Having grown up with them around. She settled on a stool and took a deep breath. Here is comes, she thought.

"And exactly where have you been all day?" Astrid asked with an annoyed tone.

"Nowhere special mom. Just around."

Astrid fixed her daughter with a hard glare. Silence descended. Till Hiccup sighed and set his pencil aside.

"Kitta you know very well your mother isn't the person to try and keep things from." He said.

"I know that." She said flatly "But I'm not keeping anything from either of you. I was just out in the woods. Enjoying nature."

"Oh really?" Astrid didn't buy a word of it.

"Well what else would I be doing? You won't let me have a dragon, you hate when I make things, you banned me from testing anything here at the house...so there really isn't anything else for me to do." Kitta said defiantly.

"Whenever you make something it goes just as wrong as the stuff your father used to make when he was fifteen."

"Hey...I resent that. Not everything went wrong." Hiccup protested playfully "I did a great job with Toothless's tail after all. Right bud?"

A soft murmuring sound was the Night Fury's reply. To which Hiccup patted his head.

"You know very well what I meant Hiccup." Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to Kitta "Why were you at Gobber's this morning then?"

"I can't stop by and see grandfathers best friend now?" The defiance continued with crossed arms.

"If that was all it was, I wouldn't be worried." Mother matched daughter for pose "But I spoke to Gobber and he mentioned you were borrowing tools."

Hiccup, Toothless, Stormfly and Scrap watched the two women seemingly facing off against one another. They all knew better than to get in the middle. Hiccup loved them both dearly, but they could be every bit as boar headed as the other at times. He wondered just which one of them Kitta was more like...himself or Astrid.

"That's top secret mom." Kitta said, hoping to bluff her way out "I'm not allowed to make a gift for my parents now? After all you've been married for twenty years, right?"

"So your planning a gift to celebrate? Awww Kitta that is so sweet of you." Hiccup said, falling for it.

"Well I do love you both." She smiled at him.

"Hold on..." Astrid interjected "You expect me to believe that young lady?"

Kitta blinked and said nothing. Scrap hopped up onto the top of Hiccup's chair. Stormfly got up and left the room, choosing the safety of her room. Toothless could sense something coming.

"Well?"

"I'm being completely truthful here and your questioning it?" Kitta's guard was up.

"You bet I am. Your as sneaky as a Zippleback!" Astrid shot back.

"Uh! I am not"

"I want the truth Kitta. Now"

"I tell you the truth and you don't believe me! What do you want from me!?" With a strangled sounding shriek, Kitta stormed out and up to her room.

"Get back down here right now young lady!" Her mother demanded.

Hiccup got up and knelt before his wife. Toothless retreated to his room too and Scrap took off after Kitta. Holding Astrid's hands, he waited till her furious gaze met his. The wash of calm was visible as it softened her body language.

"Just try not to get too angry alright. Remember that she is at the age where kids rebel. We did too, in case you forgot." He said with a smile.

"I know." She sighed "It's just too easy to get mat at her when she lies to our faces like that."

"If we push too hard honey we could drive her to do something really stupid." He reasoned.

And damn it if he wasn't right. After all, he himself had been pushed too far and done some pretty crazy things. Her smile came on softly. She couldn't deny his wisdom on the matter. Hiccup knew from personal experience. Taking a deep calming breath she leaned forward to kiss him, before returning to her evening task. Hiccup made his way upstairs. It had once been his room, but over the years he and Astrid had made some changes. Additions to the simple house had increased the size, providing more room for the family of six. Three humans and three dragons. Reaching the top of the stairs he looked around. Though the furniture was in different places it resembled his room from his youth.

Sketches pinned to the walls, scattered on the desk and half the floor. The small stone slab that served as Scrap's bed was situated below the window, Kitta's bed beside it tucked under the curve of the roof. Various incomplete items were gathered in another corner and sat upon her desk was one of the old carvings Stoic had made when Hiccup was a boy. He smiled. She had never met her grandfather, but had grown up on stories of him. Scanning the small space he quickly realised his daughter wasn't there. Without a second thought, Hiccup climbed out of the window to the small flat area Gobber had constructed for her as a star gazing perch. There she sat, legs dangling over the edge and simply staring off into the night sky.

Not saying a thing, he settled beside her. Patience was a trait he'd learned since becoming a father. She would talk. When she was ready to. For now they sat silently together. Without a single word said, Kitta leaned against her father and sighed. Her head rested on his shoulder and he put a loving arm around her. She loved both her parents with all her heart, but she always knew...mom was the disciplinarian and dad was the supporter. It seemed she was more likely to butt heads with her mother and then lean on her father than the other way around. A few silent moments passed before she spoke.

"Dad, why is mom always so hard on me about doing my own thing?"

"Sweety she just worries. As do I."

"But you never yell at me or call me a liar."

"Your mom has always been a tough woman. In the best possible way. She used to punch me a lot. Bet you never knew that." He said, a chuckle to his voice.

"Actually dad, she told me that. Mom said it was the only to make a guy pay attention." She replied.

"Oh she said that huh? That...actually explains a few things."

"Were you ever told to stop doing the things that interested you?" She asked.

"All the time. Till I proved that maybe some of my ideas were worth trying. You just need to try planning a little more before you leap into actually making stuff." He kissed the top of her head "Just remember that we love you and we only want the best for you and for you to be safe. Alright?"

"I understand. Thanks dad." Kitta hugged her father.

"Good. Now get some sleep and in the morning have a good talk with your mother okay." He said as he left.

"I will dad."

~~~~~xxxx~~~~~

Once the house fell silent, she knew her parents had gone to sleep. Now it was safe to sneak out for her rendezvous with Brock. There was one thing neither teen told their parents, besides the fact they met up, and that was what they did during these late night meetings. Brock's parents wouldn't be too upset with him, but Kitta's mother and father would likely ground her. For life. After all she was doing the one thing they forbade her to do. Silently she snuck out, Scrap left sleeping soundly. Brock was waiting a few feet from the house. Travelling on Rubble wouldn't take them long. Once in the air they made straight for Dragon Island. The pair made this trek as often as possible. For this was training.

Rubble would always relax and watch as Brock taught Kitta how best to work with the dragon she trained with, a Deadly Nadder like her mothers beloved Stormfly. This one different in color being more pinkish red than aqua blue. He was swift and eager to please which made him the perfect training partner. Brock had to admit the girl who captured his heart was certainly gifted when it came to earning a dragons trust and loyalty. Sure her flying skills needed a little improvement, but she was a natural and a daredevil. Kitta and Firefly as she had named him, had already progressed much quicker than Brock himself had with Rubble when they began to train.

Though for these night flight exercises he chose a Monstrous Nightmare to keep up with Kitta. Blaze as he'd named him, was a blue version of the fearsome dragon. But much less temperamental than old Hookfang was. The pair trained well into the night, before heading home. Brock lifted Kitta down and just held her.

"Your getting better out there, pretty soon you won't need my help." He told her.

"Why thank you." She giggled a little "How long do you think it'll be before it's safe to tell my mom and dad though?"

"Yeah..." He said at length "Might wanna hold off on that for a while."

"I guess your right." She conceded "They'd go berserk. But when would be the best time? Do I have to wait till I'm their age?"

Brock chuckled and drew her close, laying a sweet kiss to her lips. He drew back enough to see her eyes in the moonlight. Kitta knew he was the one. But wasn't ready to settle down just yet and Brock knew that. Which was why he didn't push the issue of going public with their relationship. Brock Ingerman knew without needing to be told, that Kitta was for him and he was for her. That was enough for now.

"Just try and be patient babe, okay?" He said cupping her face "You'll know when the times right."

"Alright." Smiling she kissed him once more.

Brock watched her vanish into the house and waited till he'd seen her signal before heading home too. Neither of them knew their secret wasn't so secret after all. There was someone on the island who knew. Not only that they were in love, but that they would head off in the night as often as possible together to train on Dragon Island. Valka. She saw the signs of true love and had even followed them one night, just to check on them, thus discovering their training sessions. But she said not a word to anyone. It wasn't her place. Plus she wasn't concerned with her granddaughter training, after all she had seen with her own eyes just how good the young woman was. That filled her with pride. Kitta most certainly took after Hiccup and Astrid, with a good dose of Valka's teachings thrown in.

~~~~~xxxx~~~~~

Astrid awoke to the scent of fresh bread, frying eggs and poached fish. It smelt glorious. Uncurling herself from Hiccup's hold, she sat on the edge of their bed and stretched. She figured her mother-in-law must be visiting. Behind her Hiccup moved. Suddenly an arm wrapped around her and pulled her back onto the bed. He must be in a good mood she thought, as he only ever playfully dragged her back to bed when he was. The hum of contentment breathed over her ear was more evidence to the assumption. Turning over in his hold she faced him. His eyes were still closed but lips were softly curved into a smile.

"Hiccup, we have company." She said.

"Mmm." One emerald eye lazily opened a little "Lets just pretend to still be sleeping till they leave and then we can..."

Astrid lightly punched his side, earning a sleepy grumble of pain.

"Ow...what?"

"I'm pretty sure it's your mom. Who else would be making breakfast?"

"Who knows. Maybe it's the breakfast fairy." He joked.

"Oh really, that's your answer." Her blue eyes narrowed.

"Astrid, can you really blame me for wanting you all to myself?" That adorable smile spread over his face.

She was a sucker to that smile. He knew it too. She sighed in defeated and kissed him soundly.

"It's rude to ignore a guest. More so if they are cooking."

"Alright, you win." He chuckled.

After getting ready they made their way into the main living area of their house. Scrap was on the floor playing with his favourite chew toy. Stormfly was on one side of the kitchen table occasionally asking for food in her own way. Toothless was on the other side, watching and assisting with fire now and then. But Astrid and Hiccup weren't expecting to find their daughter cooking. Valka wasn't even there. Yet the scents emanating from the kitchen would have fooled anyone. Kitta was busy at the hearth, humming as she worked and every so often giving Toothless and Stormfly little affectionate pats. Hiccup smiled proudly at the sight. Astrid was stunned and just a little suspicious. Kitta turned to place a plate on the table and saw her parents.

"Morning mom, morning dad. I made you breakfast." She beamed.

"So we see." Hiccup ushered his wife gently towards the table "Smells great."

"Everything is fresh too. I went out early to get the fish, caught it myself." She boasted, to which Toothless grunted in a displeased manner "Well, sorta. I had help with that part."

"You didn't..." Astrid began.

"No mom, we walked there and back I promise." Kitta interrupted "You know Toothless would never let me fly with him without dad being there."

"True."

"Scrap helped out with getting the eggs." She laughed "He just loves to chase those chickens. And Stormfly helped me carry the Yak milk home. We got extra to last all day."

"That's very thoughtful of you sweetie." Her father said, earning a beaming smile.

"Your up to something young lady." Astrid accused.

"Your right mom." Kitta confessed "I'm trying to say...I'm sorry. For last night."

Mother observed daughter. Astrid's keen senses never failed her and right now they were telling her Kitta wasn't hiding anything. As they settled to eat Astrid had to admit to herself that Kitta could have her trustworthy moments. Not often, but they happened. The mood lightened as they ate and talked. Kitta detailing the things she'd seen that morning while out gathering. It helped Hiccup to be ahead of things whenever he could be. The Intel his daughter had this morning was going to make his chiefing easier. To a degree. Once breakfast was over, Kitta cleared the table and washed up as her parents went over the village tasks for the day and dividing them accordingly, for efficiency. As they discussed, Kitta attempted to get out of the house before they noticed. And failed.

"Kitta, your going to be helping out today with village business, so no taking off." Her mother said without looking her way.

"But mom I..."

"No buts, you need to learn this as in the future you'll be chief." Astrid said.

Kitta slumped down on a chair and pouted. Astrid ignored her daughters attempt to get her own way. Hiccup understood how she felt, but now as chief he understood how his father had seen things. Teach them early as you never know when your last day will come. Even after all these years the memory of Stoic's passing still hurt him. He hoped Kitta and Astrid wouldn't have to live with the same.

"Pout all you like but it won't change a thing."

"Do I really have to go? I've got things of my own to do today." Kitta complained.

"Like what exactly?" Astrid asked.

"You know...stuff." Kitta shrugged "And I had plans with Brock too."

"You can see Brock later. As to the 'stuff' as you put it, that can wait for another day."

"But mom..." Kitta whined.

"How about a deal?" Hiccup suddenly said.

"What kinda deal?" His daughter narrowed her eyes.

When she did that it always reminded him of Astrid at that age. One tough cookie. At that moment his wife gave him a look that spoke volumes. What are you up to? It said. Hiccup knew exactly how to convince his daughter. In some ways she was predictable and the idea in his head right now was sure to win her over. And put the brakes on any potentially explosive disagreements between Astrid and Kitta.

"If you agree to help me out today and promise to pay attention to what I'm teaching you..." He paused to let it sink in "...then I'll let you fly with Toothless for a bit."

"Hiccup..."

"With me of course, so we don't worry your mother too much." He added.

He watched Astrid relax. His daughter however looked as if she were about to explode. Like a dragon egg. With joy. Toothless knew what was coming and he understood that Kitta would want to fly for hours. Fine by him. That excited sparkle reached her eyes and she jumped from her seat.

"Really!?" She said, almost squeaking.

"Yes really. So do we have a deal?"

Kitta squealed the house down, ran up to her father and hugged him hard. Something else he noted she got from her mother, her ability to cause pain through love. He could hardly breath. Let alone hold in the grin. Astrid smiled. She had to hand it to her husband, he certainly could get Kitta to agree to things easily. Even if it was achieved through bribery. She could only hope their daughter paid attention during the day or else her flight would be denied. Of course Hiccup was known for being a soft touch. But he was getting better at saying no and actually getting Kitta to learn things. Likely drawing on his own experiences as a boy, to better handle typical Viking stubbornness.

"Thank you!" She beamed at Hiccup "When do we start?"

"Slow down sweetie, your mom and I are still working out which tasks each of us will do today." He said.

"So do I get to fly Toothless to all the appointments today?"

"I don't think that's..." Astrid began, before Hiccup jumped in.

"No, we get all the tasks done today and then we can go flying. Alright?" He explained.

Kitta's beaming smile faded a little and looked as if her pout might return. A moment more passed before she answered.

"Okay."

"Good. That's my girl." Hiccup said cheerfully.

With that settled, her parents went back to dividing the days tasks. Kitta helped out by saddling Stormfly for her mother and checking the ropes and harness on Toothless. She made sure Scrap was fed and gave the two adult dragons a little smoked cod. As the family headed outside they planned a meeting around lunch time to catch up and see what had been completed. Stepping into the sunshine they were greeted by members of the village and the rooftops were half full of dragons. It was a wonderful sight that Hiccup never tired of. They mounted their dragons and made their way to what needed doing.

Three hours passed and Kitta was beginning to tire of the list of things her father had to do. Oh she tried to be enthusiastic. But that was tough to do when you had to handle a domestic dispute, rounding up loose sheep and delegating tasks to be undertaken to the skilled workers. After which they checked in with the fleet of fishing boats and settled a small, albeit destructive, fight between two dragons. By lunch time they had been over half the island. They met her mother up on a high cliff, a nice quiet spot overlooking the village. As tasks were marked off and reports exchanged, discussed and plans settled, they ate and talked generally.

Kitta was picking at her food and regretting agreeing to her fathers deal. The morning had just been too mundane for her. She couldn't understand how her parents did it. All day, every day. Putting her food aside she dropped back on the grass to stare up at the sky. How she longed for the freedom to fly wherever she wanted.

"So Kitta, what have you learned so far today?" Astrid asked.

There was silence for a moment and then a long sigh.

"I learned that the key to a happy marriage is not to marry someone as pigheaded as yourself. That sheep really hate being in pens and that two full grown dragons can be as stupidly stubborn as Gobber on bath day." She said sounding disinterested "Oh and I also learned the fishing fleet needs a major overhaul...both equipment and crew."

"That wasn't what you were supposed to take from your time helping your father young lady." Astrid's voice dripped with frustration.

"Not my fault dad has a boring job."

"Hey, come on now it's not that bad you know." Hiccup insisted.

"Um dad...yes it is."

"I seem to recall a certain someone a long time ago who thought it wasn't for him." Smiling Astrid gave Stormfly some chicken.

"Say what?" Kitta suddenly sat up.

"Now Astrid you know that was different. I didn't think I had what it took to be chief, remember?" Hiccup said.

"How was that different?"

"Well it wasn't that I didn't want to do it, at some point, I just didn't have the courage back then." He replied "I was only twenty if you recall."

"So basically you had it forced on you too? Right dad?"

"Not exactly sweetie." His expression changed and he looked sombre.

Astrid touched his hand and smiled softly when he looked up. Kitta knew that her grandfather had died in battle, but was never told the details. It seemed today might be that day. One Hiccup hadn't been sure he wanted to arrive nor that he was ever sure he wanted to tell Kitta the whole story. But it seemed it needed to be said in order for his daughter to understand. Taking a steadying breath, Hiccup prepared to explain it all.

"Sweetie, we've told you how your grandfather died in battle a long time ago...but there is a little more to the story." Hiccup linked his hand with Astrid's for support "I was twenty years old, still trying to find who I was. My father and I differed a lot and that caused problems. He told me he planned to retire and make me chief. I felt scared and so took off. In doing so your mother and I came across some not so friendly people and when they spoke of their boss building a dragon army, we returned so I could tell my father. He wasn't happy when he heard and grounded all the dragons and readied the island for war. I took off again, so sure I could stop the war by changing Drago Bludvist's mind. I failed. In the midst of battle he hypnotised Toothless and ordered him to kill me. My father shoved me aside and the took the full blast at point blank range." His eyes saddened "He never woke up from that. In those moments I lost my father and my best friend. That meant I was now chief. I had to step up and save the village and all the dragons Drago was controlling with his Bewilderbeast. So you see, it was through tragedy I was thrust into the role of chief. These passed few years I've been trying to teach you about the role, so that when the time comes you'll be ready. More so than I was."

Kitta sat in stunned silence. She couldn't begin to grasp what her father had gone through or how he'd found the strength to go on and become the chief of Berk.

"Our hope is that one day your father will step down as chief and pass the reins to you." Astrid added.

"I..never knew any of that." She looked at her hands "I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound as thought I don't care about the idea of someday being this villages leader...I just don't think I'm ready for it yet."

"And that is why we are teaching you. So when your time comes you'll have all the knowledge and skills to be a great chief." Hiccup told her.

"Not to mention the very first female chief in Berk's history." Astrid added.

It gave Kitta plenty to think about. Her own feelings on the matter seemed childish now, after hearing the details of her fathers ascension to the chieftain position. Just as they were packing up to start the afternoons tasks, a warning signal rang through the air. Quickly they made their way into the center of town. What greeted them was a little puzzling. A wild dragon was reeking havoc as it appeared to be searching for something. Hiccup approached it, confident he could settle the beast down. Kitta froze for a moment when she realised...the rogue dragon was Firefly.

Seconds before Hiccup got close to it, the Deadly Nadder spotted Kitta and changed direction. Heading straight for her. Stormfly tried to halt it's progress with a spine shot, but it jumped over them and kept going. Toothless blocked Firefly's path and stood guard over Kitta.

"What is with this dragon, Hiccup? Why is it so determined to get to Kitta?"

"I don't know Astrid, but we need to get it out of town. Now." He replied.

As they moved to corral it, the Nadder prepared to fire spines at them. In a moment of panic Kitta rushed forward, hands in the air.

"Firefly no!"

To everyone's shock the Nadder stopped and bowed it's head as though being chastised.

"What the hell!?" Astrid said stunned.

"Oh no, don't tell me..." Hiccup groaned.

Oh he knew, this wasn't going to end well. At all. Firefly nudged Kitta affectionately. His spines were smoothed and his apparent rampage was over. He was an entirely different dragon now. Once the shock dispelled, Astrid began to fume. There was only one way her daughter could have trained that dragon and that meant she had broken the one big rule her parents had set. It also didn't escape her that Kitta had gotten help too. Most likely candidate...Brock Ingerman. With the villagers now calm and the dragon subdued, it was time to get to the bottom of this entire debacle.

"Home. Now." Astrid commanded.

"But what about..."

"The Nadder goes back to it's home. Which I'm assuming is Dragon Island." Fierce blue eyes left no room for argument.

"Firefly. Home." Kitta said "Go back home."

Rather reluctantly the dragon did as told, taking flight and vanishing out of sight. Leaving Gobber to over see the clean up, Hiccup and Astrid returned home to deal with their daughter. Once behind closed doors, Astrid ordered Kitta to sit at the table. Hiccup sat at the other end, but his wife was so mad she couldn't be still, pacing back and forth as she berated Kitta.

"You were told specifically not to try flying any dragon other than a Groncle. Do you think we said that just to be difficult?" Astrid fumed "Without proper training you could get seriously hurt dealing with a dragon such as a Deadly Nadder!"

"We just didn't want you to be in danger. To train properly and work your way up to the higher level dragons. Slowly." Hiccup added.

"But you didn't when.." Kitta argued.

"No buts. That was then and this is now. We learned the hard way, Kitta, the dangerous life threatening way." Astrid yelled "Which was not how we wanted you to learn."

"And I didn't!" Kitta snapped "I wasn't reckless or fool hardy or too quick to do this!"

"I beg to differ." Astrid finally stopped pacing and folded her arms "You've been to Dragon Island, which you knew was out of bounds and you dragged Brock into your defiance too."

"We only want what's best for you Kitta and that means you have to follow the rules we set." Hiccup explained "You should trust us when we tell you not to do certain things."

"Look, I didn't drag Brock into anything okay." Kitta said, her tone laced with plenty of mad "He found out what I was planning to do and refused to let me go alone! He insisted on being my teacher! On being there at all times and making sure I did things right!"

"Your teacher?" Hiccup asked, an auburn brow raised.

"Yes dad. He wouldn't let me do things my way until I'd done the first part his way." She confirmed.

"Just how long has this been going on!?" Astrid demanded.

In that moment Kitta realised she'd said too much. Hanging her head she prayed to the Gods her mother wouldn't go berserk when she answered. Though her first attempt at answering was mumbled.

"What was that?" Astrid asked annoyed.

The mumble was a little louder but still not entirely clear. As her mother began to boil over, Hiccup told his daughter to just spit it out.

"A few months." Kitta finally said aloud.

"A few? And just how many would that be young lady?" Astrid pressed.

Looking up sheepishly, Kitta stared at a spot between her parents. This wasn't going to go well. How could it?

"Since...my seventeenth birthday."

Both Hiccup and Astrid were wide eyed with shock. They looked at each other and then at their daughter. How had she kept this secret for so long? An entire year? It had begun over a year ago and yet they hadn't seen a clue? How was that possible with a chief for a father and a suspicious mother? As if in unison, Hiccup and Astrid realised the answer and said it aloud.

"You've been training at night!?"

With a sigh and her head hung once more Kitta nodded. There wasn't any point trying to hide it any longer. The secret was out. In a big way. A long silence fell upon the room. A need to explain all grasped her insides tight. Something else inherited from her father.

"I tried to sneak away the first night but Brock caught me. When he learned what I was planning he said no way not without him and that I needed to be careful and learn things before trying to train a dragon bigger than Scrap. He made me swear to study his way or he'd come to you and tell you my plan. He said I needed to do it right or I'd get hurt and he didn't want that, so I had to read and learn and watch and a whole lot of stuff that took months and months before he'd let me get close to a dragon." She blurted out at speed, leaving herself breathless.

"Fishlegs really raised him well."

"Hiccup!"

"What? I was just saying that at least she did the full training and not just jumping in head first like we did."

"Not helping dragon boy."

"Haven't been called that in years Astrid. Not exactly fitting anymore." Hiccup smiled.

That earned him a steely glare and he raised his hands in surrender. Placing a hand to her face, Astrid tried to calm herself. This wouldn't go unpunished. It was likely going to cause a rift for a while. But it had to be done.

"Your grounded."

"What?" Kitta gasped.

"You heard me. Grounded. No leaving this house. No seeing Brock. No more flights with your father. And...no spending time with any of our dragons." Astrid laid out the rules.

"What do you mean no spending time with them?" Kitta enquired.

"I mean no contact at all with either Stormfly or Toothless and Scrap is to be placed in a pen at the academy till I decide otherwise."

Hiccup watched his daughters heart break. To be denied contact with any of the dragons of their household was tough. Especially with Scrap. She had a bond with the Terrible Terror that spanned half their childhoods. Those observant green eyes of hers welled with tears and her lip trembled. Kitta had always been a relatively tough kid, having only cried a handful of times from two years of age till now. But the flood gates opened and the grief rushed forth.

"That's so unfair!" Kitta shouted through the tears.

"No one ever said life was fair Kitta." Astrid said, hating having to do this, but knowing it was necessary.

Then came the outburst. The rebellious shouting and the one thing guaranteed to hurt both Astrid and Hiccup deeply.

"I hate you!" Kitta screamed and took the stairs swiftly.

They could hear her tantrum still as she threw things about her room, before stopping to sob. Astrid was now hating herself for doing it. But it hurt worse to have Kitta say that to her. Couldn't she see her parents were trying to do the right thing for her? Hiccup came to Astrid's side and laid his arm around her. Leaning into him she tried to ease the sickly feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Would they ever get back to a normal family life after this? Or would Kitta hate them forever?

~~~~~xxxx~~~~~

She couldn't take this any longer. It was stifling to be told what she could or couldn't do. To be grounded at her age was embarrassing. Once the village got word of it the other teens would never let her live it down. Bad enough to be denied a cool dragon to ride, but to be grounded like a child as well was a push too far. It was time to go. Once the house was quiet she would pack up and go. Kitta needed her freedom. She would sail off and see the world. Find where she truly belonged. At that moment it didn't even bother her if she never saw her parents ever again. She would show them. When she'd found her own place and her own dragon she'd come back for Brock. He'd understand.

By candle light she scribbled a note. She would tack it to Rubble's saddle. Brock was sure to find it there. Oh she would miss Toothless and Stormfly. When small they had protected her and played with her. But to say goodbye to them would hurt too much and likely alert her parents. With her satchel packed and a last look around her room, Kitta slipped out the window onto the view deck and down the the rope that hung from it. She was swift and silent as she made her way to Brock's house. As Rubble slept soundly she tucked the note under a flap on his saddle and then made off for the academy where her mother had taken Scrap earlier that night.

Slipping into the academy was easy enough. She found Scrap, who promptly began to make excited noises. Hushing him, she unlocked his pen and he hopped onto her shoulder. Kitta didn't look back as she took off at a jog. Not far from the academy she located one of the tunnel entrances, having Scrap light her lantern she slipped into it, making her way to the secluded beach. With a sharp tug she pulled the cover off her project. It wasn't entirely finished but it was still workable. Shoving the boat into the water and hopping on board, she set about stocking the container below the large metal drum.

"Alright Scrap, gentle burn." She told the little dragon, who obliged by lighting the kindling with half his normal power of flame.

It took a few moments, but eventually steam began to build and it pushed against the paddles inside the chamber. That in turn moved the pole that sank into the water. As it turned, the blades on it cut through the water and the boat began to move slowly away from the shore. Pleased with her creations success, Kitta watched as the shore of Berk began to fade away into the night. One moment of fear gripped her heart. This would be the last time for a long while that she would see the place she had called home up till now. There were those she would miss and those she wouldn't. An ache in her stomach told her she would miss her parents, even though right now she was furious with them. But she had to do this. For herself.

Scrap and Kitta sailed on into the night and as the sun began to rise on the horizon they had long ago passed Dragon Island, Changewing Island and Eel Island too. Now they were in waters as yet uncharted by them. It all seemed to be going well. The boat was sailing smoothly with only a minor glitch here and there. They fished for breakfast and watched a pod of Thunderdrum's swim by. Kitta sketched as Scrap napped by her side. When storm clouds rolled in, they sought somewhere to anchor till it passed by. A small empty island proved to be perfect. They had it to themselves and there were trees bearing fruit. Building a temporary shelter, they settled in as the winds picked up and the rain lashed the land.

He watched as she and that tiny dragon drifted off to sleep. He recognised the crest on her satchel. It didn't take much more deduction to realise who she actually was. She looked so much like them. Hiccup and that woman. He had been plotting and planning for years to get his revenge on Hiccup and that Night Fury. Oh this was going to be prefect. If there was one thing he knew very well about Hiccup, is that he would likely do anything to get back a loved one or friend. So he considered this to be a sign from the Gods that he was meant to finally win against his most hated foe. Then, oh yes then, he would finally have the Night Fury for himself. Not that he needed it mind you, after all he'd collected many a fine fearsome dragon over the years.

His men were positioned before the sun came up and with deadly swiftness, grabbed the girl and her pet dragon. Bound and thrown aboard his flagship, she had no clue what was going on or who would have attacked her. Until of course, he stepped into view. She'd heard stories of this man. Of how insane he was and how obsessed he had become with her father and Toothless. Even after all that her parents, surrogate uncles and aunt had told her, she still didn't fear him. The defiant look in those emerald eyes only served to annoy him. Oh yes indeed, she was just like her father. Irritating. Scrap had fought himself free and taken to the air, knowing he was outnumbered he fled out to the open ocean. She was glad of that. Thankfully the men were ordered to ignore Scrap. Their leader deemed him unworthy of the effort to catch him.

"Well well well, what have we here? A little far from home, aren't we little girl?" His tone was snide and self confident.

"What's it to you? Free world right? I can go where I want to." She retorted.

"Oh a feisty one eh?" He leaned down, his face right up in hers "Your so much like him, you know that? And that girl, really really makes me mad."

"I make you mad? Just because of who my father is? Well that's stupid, even for you." She bit back, with a smirk.

"Shut up!" He grabbed her hair and forced her head back "Your going to learn girl, that nobody talks that way to me."

"Yeah I don't think that's going to happen. Following the rules, isn't my strong suit." She grinned now, deliberately aiming to get under his skin.

It worked. He shoved her back and stormed off across the deck. Fuming and ranting to himself. Sure her scalp hurt still, but that was worth it to see this guy loose it. Especially because of her smart mouth. It probably wasn't the smartest idea to aggravate her captor, but it was just too easy to do. If her father, the Pride of Berk, could wind this guy up without fear then why shouldn't she have a go to. When he came back to her, his axe was pressed dangerously to her throat. His face was a grimace of disgust and temper. His blazing green eyes were filled with rage.

"You WILL do what I want. Or I will kill you and hunt down your little...pet." He said with venom.

"And what is it you want?" She asked.

"Oh that's very simple..." He grinned maniacally "I want you to beg for your life when your precious _daddy _comes to save you."

She frowned. So much for finding her own place. Now she would have to deal with her parents not only being mad at her for sneaking off, but that they had to save her too. As her captor laughed like a lunatic, she groaned inwardly. Once he was done laughing, he gave a scroll containing his demands to one of his men and instructed them to deliver it to Berk. Setting off in a smaller boat the soldier vanished out of sight. A final act of insanity, he ordered her small boat destroyed. She had to watch them demolish her work, that had taken her months to construct. In mere moments it was a pile of broken pieces. With that, the ships left the small island and her hopes of freedom behind. She was headed to parts unknown now and a fate as equally in question.

~~~~~xxxx~~~~~

The day was starting out grey and dreary on Berk. Chores still had to be done, but the villagers mood was a little less cheerful, on account of the weather. Fishlegs was about to head to the academy for the days lessons. He was a teacher there, a position granted him by Hiccup. After all he was very knowledgeable about the various species of dragons. After finishing with breakfast he made his way out to the stable area, where Meatlug now resided since her owner married. In the stall beside her was Rubble. Younger but equally strong and smart. One of her offspring from some years ago whom had chosen to stay close. As Fishlegs saddled her, Brock came in to see to Rubble. Everything seemed normal, until he found the note tucked into the saddle. As he read it his heart dropped. Kitta had gone without him. Fishlegs, ever the keen observer, picked up on his sons mood.

"Anything the matter son?" He asked.

"What? Oh no, no everything's fine dad. I uh...just remembered there's something I need to check." He said absently, saddling Rubble and heading out.

He barely got to the secluded beach before he realised her boat was gone. As Rubble landed and Brock dismounted, a cry caught his attention. Looking up he saw a tiny form flying towards the shore. Quickly followed by a small boat. Brock's hope sprung and he thought maybe Kitta had returned. But when he saw the sail his hope was dashed. It held a familiar symbol. One his father had shown him and told him of, with plenty of warnings. Scrap landed in Brock's arms exhausted, but clearly upset over something. When the boat pulled to shore, the large Viking handed him a scroll and said in a gruff voice "Deliver this to the chief" before getting back in his boat and leaving. Brock knew without reading the scroll what it contained. With haste he mounted Rubble, tucked Scrap in his saddle bag and took off towards the chiefs house.

Little did Hiccup or Astrid know of the events that were about to unfold. Their day was going as normal, minus their daughter, whom they believed was sulking in her room. They couldn't have been more wrong. Finishing with breakfast, their dragons fed, they settled in for a relaxed start to the day. There wasn't any pressing village business to attend to yet and that meant they could relax for a bit, enjoy each others company. As they talked about the upcoming tribal meeting with the Shivering Shores new chief, there was a loud knocking at their door. Loud and very urgent. Along with a familiar voice calling out desperately.

"Chief! Chief are you there!"

Hiccup headed for the door and as he opened it, Brock rushed in frantic. Astrid blinked, having never seen the young man in such a state before.

"Whoa, Brock take it easy." Hiccup said calmly "Take a breath and tell me what's so urgent."

Mimicking his father, Brock took short deep gulps of air, before continuing. He handed Hiccup the scroll and his expression was of fear.

"Kitta...she's...gone sir."

"What?" Aghast, Astrid came to her husbands side as he unrolled the paper.

"I found a note. And her boat, it's gone. Scrap came back without her, freaked out. And then...another boat appeared and delivered this." Brock rushed it all out in a panic "They have her. We have to save her! I can't loose her!"

Hiccup's face turned serious and he crumpled the paper, tossing it aside. Astrid knew that look. She had seen it before, which meant but one thing. And this wasn't going to go down well for the culprit. She touched Hiccup's arm, when his eyes met hers, the silent question was asked. Brock was still looking to his chief for some kind of answer as to how they were going to bring home the girl he loved.

"Hiccup?"

"Dagur." He said grimly.

"So I was right. It was the Berserker symbol on the sail." Brock said quietly.

"Yeah it was. I thought we were rid of him for good after the last time he took a member of my family." Hiccup said, recalling the time Dagur took his father captive "This time, he's gone too far."

"What are we going to do sir?" Brock asked.

"Astrid, gather the others. Brock get the other junior riders together, you guys are to protect Berk while the rest of us are gone."

"What!? No! I'm going with you sir." Brock insisted.

"It's too dangerous and I need you here to lead the others." Hiccup replied, getting a glare he had seen before, he sighed "Alright, alright you can come along. But make sure the others don't follow you."

"You got it chief!" He said rushing off to do as instructed.

"Hiccup, what's the plan? How are we going to get our daughter back?" Astrid asked him, voice tainted with worry.

"I'll figure something out." He replied cupping her face "I promise."

About an hour later, all the riders were gathered outside the house. The junior riders were there, many of whom had been children younger than Hiccup when dragons had first become a part of life on Berk. There were the kids of his fellow riders too. Brock had placed his best friend in charge of them all, Brett son of Eret and Ruffnutt. Next in the group of teens were Gilda and Hilda the twins born to Tuffnutt and his wife. Then there was Gus son of Snotlout. Every bit his fathers son. Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnutt, Tuffnutt, Eret, Valka and Gobber were all assembled too. Waiting for instructions from the chief. With Astrid at his side, Hiccup glanced over them all, before addressing them.

"Okay gang, we've had an ultimatum delivered. Dagur is once again trying to get Toothless and he's made the huge mistake of taking my daughter as leverage." He explained "We're going to get her back. Mom, Gobber, Eret and the junior riders are to protect Berk in case that twisted nut case tries anything while I'm gone. Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruff and Tuff your with Astrid and me. We're going to pay Dagur a visit and he isn't going to like it."

"Yeah! I like the sound of that!" Snotlout cheered.

"We'll make sure things run smoothly here, don't you worry about that laddie." Gobber said.

"Not a problem my friend, if soldiers come, we'll send them packing." Eret proclaimed.

"I sure hope we get to destroy stuff while we're there." Tuffnutt said, looking to his sister.

"Yeah, wouldn't be any fun if we didn't." Ruffnutt agreed.

Hiccup shook his head. After all these years, Snotlout and the twins were the same as ever. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and turned to see his mother.

"Don't worry about a thing. We've got Berk covered. Go save Kitta. Bring her home son." She told him with a soft smile.

"Thank you mom." He replied, then turned to his team "Alright guys, mount up."

With his speech delivered and the orders given, the six dragons took to the air and headed for the location specified by Dagur in his ultimatum. They couldn't be sure what they would find upon arrival. But one thing was certain, they wouldn't rest till Kitta was back with them and safely back on Berk. Valka watched her son fly off to rescue his child. She felt pride and worry. Pride that he was so dedicated to not only his people but his daughter too and worry at just what might be waiting for them when they got there. Would it be so easy to retrieve Kitta and return to Berk? Or did Dagur the Deranged have some devious plan up his sleeve?

~~~~~xxxx~~~~~

The island Dagur and his fleet took her to was a fair size and bristling with armaments. Leading the way towards the center of it, Dagur watched with gleeful eyes as Kitta was unbound and then shoved into a dungeon, the gate shut tight behind her. There were many others like it. They had passed at least ten before stopping at this one. Many were empty but others held dangerous dragons in them. She had noticed the cave system went on deeper than the cell she was in now. There was no telling how many more there were or what other dragons he might have down here. Kitta had so far seen a Whispering Death, a Timberjack, a Thunderdrum and a Deadly Nadder. From the sounds she heard from the cages beyond hers, she could tell there were some far worse then those she'd seen already. Dagur walked up to the door, grinning like a maniac.

"I hope you enjoy your accommodations." He smirked with evil intent "Although you won't be here long."

"Is that so? What are planning to do? Trade me?" Kitta retorted.

"Trade you?" Dagur erupted into a fit of maniacal laughter, before slowly stopping "Oh no no little girl. Your simply the bait to lure your father here and then...he will hear of your death."

Kitta gasped, wide eyed at the man as he laughed like a lunatic. He truly was insane.

"So be sure to enjoy your last moments..." Dagur turned to leave then added with a devils grin "Oh that's right. You won't. Oh well, bye bye."

Leaving with his entourage, Dagur felt sure in his plan. This time it would work out perfectly and Hiccup would be left with nothing. Kitta heard the men walking away, the footfalls getting softer and softer, until she heard the door at the far end shut. The underground area was dimly lit by torch light. She let her head fall against the bars and sighed. How was she going to get out of this? She needed a plan, but before she could begin to focus on her task something moved in the darkness deep in the cell. She wasn't alone! In that second it struck her what Dagur had meant. He had always planned to kill her. And it was to be death by dragon, apparently. She turned, back against the bars and squinted, trying to see into the shadows. Whatever it was, it moved again. She swallowed hard.

"Okay, okay." She said softly trying to calm herself "So there might be a dragon in here with me. That's fine. That's okay. Dad taught me all about dealing with wild dragons. I can do this."

There was a low growl. Kitta gulped. Without seeing the dragon she had no idea what training tactic to use. She tried to focus her senses. Listening intently to try and hear the footfalls. The heavier the foot steps the bigger the dragon. As her cell mate moved again, she noted the light padding sounds. Okay, she thought, nothing bigger than say Toothless. Suddenly the torch lights reflected off a pair of eyes. They were almost cat like and a shimmering blue color. Taking note of the pupils size and shape, Kitta thought for sure she must be hallucinating. They looked like...blue versions of Toothless's eyes. How was that possible? The snout slowly came into the light and as it did, she got another shock.

"No way." She said softly, utterly stunned by what her eyes were seeing "How can this be?"

Standing before her, poised to strike at any moment was a pure white blue eyed Night Fury. It was watching her intently. As it moved further into the light, Kitta could see plenty of old scars on it's body. Many of which looked like dragon bites and claw marks, with a few sword slices too. It made her mad as hell and also remorseful. This poor creature had been attacked by it's fellow dragons and by people. It had every right to want to kill any human that it came into contact with. But even so, it seemed to be observing her. Every now and then a soft warning growl was uttered. As it moved, she moved and in doing so they quietly changed positions. Now Kitta was cornered in the shadows, with the dragon blocking the doorway. In doing so, she realised, this Night Fury was bigger than Toothless. By a little bit.

"Hey. I'm Kitta." She began, trying to calm her own nerves "I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm a prisoner too."

The dragon silently watched her.

"So uh, listen, I'd really appreciate it if you could see your way to not eating me." She chuckled a little "Once I figure a way out of here, I can set you free as well."

The Fury cocked it's head to the right a little.

"Now I know you understand me. Your a Night Fury after all. One of the smartest dragons around." Kitta relaxed a little more "My dad has one. But he isn't quite like you. He's black and has green eyes. Toothless. That's his name. He's really intelligent. I bet you are too."

The head straightened a bit.

"Uhh...I'm thinking that maybe your of the Night Fury family, like a sub-species. I should name you. Hmm lets see now...what would work best..." Kitta thought for a moment "Oh! I know, how about Luna Fury? On account of your coloring?"

The dragon gave Kitta a look, one she had seen many times. Toothless often gave someone that look, when he was pleased with something. Now Kitta knew she was being understood.

"Alright, that's settled then. Now you need an individual name. Something for me to call you." Again she thought, running a few name choices through her mind, before picking one "Gem. You like that? I name you Gem, because your so rare and precious. What do you think?"

A soft almost purring grumble was emitted. Kitta felt relief. The dragon, no Gem, had accepted her name and sub-species name too. Now came the moment of truth. Would Gem let Kitta touch her? Carefully she walked toward the Luna Fury, hand out and palm open. At the low growl hesitation froze her for a second. But she continued on. Realising the human wasn't about to stop or run in fear, Gem became curious. The small hand was right there, just a foot away. Determination was in the eyes of this person. After a moment of nothing at all, Gem placed her snout into Kitta's palm. They remained that way for a moment, before Gem lifted her head again and they looked at each other.

"Thank you. For trusting me." Kitta said "Now, lets work on a plan to get out of here. What do you say?"

Gem replied in a low roar. Somewhere down the tunnel there were the sounds of other dragons. They sounded angry, but Kitta wagered they were just scared and ill treated. No one on Berk caged a dragon unless it was the absolute last resort. She wondered if any of these dragons had seen the light of day. A sudden idea formed in her head and she was grateful her parents weren't here to witness what she was going to do next. There was no telling how long Dagur planned to drag things out and she needed an exit strategy. And quick. Kitta spent the next few hours working with Gem. Training her and building the early stages of a bond with her. When she started to fall asleep, Kitta found her work with Gem paying off, as the dragon laid behind her and allowed her to lean back and rest a while. She would continue after some sleep. Her goal...to find a way out of this cell, to get to and train all the other dragons in this dungeon, to then free them all and escape.

She hoped...before her parents got there.

It seemed though that wasn't to be. Time was short and her rescuers were already almost upon the island. She had no idea that while she was working on her own exit plan, her parents, aunt and uncles and the love of her life, were all about to wade into a battle to free her from the clutches of Dagur the Deranged. None of them knew what that madman had planned. But he was so certain of it this time, he wasn't even worried when word came that dragon riders had been sighted a few miles off the island. He causally finished eating and got up to walk gingerly outside to watch the fighting unfold from his vantage point atop a cliff. Oh, he thought, this was going to be so much fun.

It was now early evening, Hiccup and the others had made it to their destination. As expected they were greeted by an armada of ships, more catapults and archers than they had ever seen and a very smug looking Dagur. But they weren't about to go down so easily. Keeping the archers and catapults busy, Fishlegs and the twins tag teamed, blowing to pieces as many as they could. Snotlout and Brock were destroying ships as Hiccup and Astrid tried to get in close. Their intention...to capture Dagur and force his men to release Kitta in exchange. The dragons moved swiftly, dodging nets and boulders, arrows whizzing past them so close they could make out the tool marks from their creation.

In one sweeping move the twins gassed a dozen catapults and the lava blast from Meatlug ignited the whole cloud with enough explosive force to blow over several more and the men manning them too. Brock meanwhile was blasting holes in the hulls of ships as Snotlout passed over them leaving a trail of fire in his wake. The sky was lit by flames and it was certainly an epic sight. As Hiccup and Astrid worked together to remove obstacles in their path to Dagur, their fiendish foe sprung his surprise. A gigantic multi net launcher. In a split second the sky around Hiccup and Astrid was filled with nets, more than they could ever hope to avoid.

Stormfly succumbed first, taking Astrid with her as the nets tangled them together. They landed hard and were set upon by a dozen Berserker men. As Hiccup's attention shifted for a moment he too fell victim. Toothless hit the ground hard and his best friend was thrown. Hiccup's body tumbled and skidded to a stop a few feet away. Realising what had occurred, Fishlegs lead the twins in a bid to rescue their friend and chief. With the armada in ruins, Brock and Snotlout came to help. The first plan was to free their friends and provide them cover fire to escape. However that plan was brought to a crashing halt. Astrid was being held, a sword at her throat and Hiccup was pinned down with an axe to his neck.

"Surrender or your chief and his woman dies!" Dagur exclaimed triumphantly.

"Stop!" Fishlegs called out, the other riders heeding his command.

"That's better. Now, give up your dragons and your weapons." Dagur nodded to the soldier who's axe was hovering at Hiccup's neck "Or else Hiccup here, will loose his head."

Without a word, they all did as instructed. The moment that Hookfang, Meatlug, Rubble and Barf and Belch landed their riders were ripped from the saddles and the dragons tied up. With a hand signal, the soldiers moved all the dragons, except Toothless, down into an arena six times the size of the one back on Berk. Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Brock, Ruffnutt and Tuffnutt were dragged toward the rails. Dagur took his seat and grinned as Toothless was caged beside him. Finally the Night Fury was his. Now, he would have his fun...watching Hiccup and his friends and their dragons die. Slowly. Painfully. By dragons. To start his games off with a bang, he thought it proper to inform his prisoners of their futile mission.

"Now Hiccup, I know you came all the way here just to rescue that half wit daughter of yours." He smirked "But, I'm afraid you were just too late."

"No..." Astrid breathed, fear gripping her heart.

"Your lying Dagur. You wouldn't have killed our daughter before we got here." Hiccup replied.

"You know that might have been the case but...well I got fed up of her smart mouth and so fed her to my dragons." Dagur said, nonchalantly picking dirt from under his nails "I threw her in their myself hours ago...so she's gone by now."

Hiccup didn't want to believe it. Astrid was trying to stay strong but he could tell, she was just as distraught as he was. Brock suddenly tried to get at Dagur, the rage of loosing the woman he loved fuelling his strength. He was quickly pinned by half a dozen men. And Dagur, well this all amused him so much he began to laugh like a loony again. Once he had finished, he made sure they had a front row seat for the following event. He planned to have them watch as their dragons were killed by wild dragons. True to his ways, Dagur made sure this wasn't a fair fight either. Meatlug, Rubble, Hookfang and Barf and Belch were still bound in part. To slow them down and make them easy prey for his wild beasts to destroy.

"Watch closely and say bye bye to your precious dragons." Dagur gave the signal and the gate at the far end of the arena opened.

The roars that came from the blackness of that opening, was fearsome and made the dragons worry. They wouldn't stand a chance without being able to fly or run or use their entire bodies. They were sitting ducks. Their riders were now calling out, pleading with Dagur not to do this. Another lever was thrown and then there was silence for moment. The ground began to shudder and suddenly a hole opened, a Whispering Death flew out and circled the arena roaring. From the hole a dark blue Deadly Nadder followed, the two dragons circling like vultures spines at the ready. Then came a roar so loud and so powerful it caused a disturbance in the air. Seconds later a dark red Thunderdrum appeared and hovered near to the left of the retrained group.

"Oh no!" Fishlegs said panicking.

"Oh this is going to be so glorious!" Dagur proclaimed gleefully.

It seemed that the list of wild dragons wasn't finished, as within moments another appeared. This time it was a full grown Timberjack, it's wings spreading out as it roared ferociously. As it lowered it's wings, yet another dragon appeared. This time, even the Berserker's were a bit fearful. For this one was a Flightmare. Much to the dismay of Hiccup and his friends though, there were two more to come. Even more deadly than the Flightmare. Their dragons were trapped, at a disadvantage and huddled together in fear at their opponents. As if things couldn't get any worse, two more showed up. First came the Changewing, mostly camouflaging itself, only seen for a few seconds at a time and the Skrill. Bringing forth a storm, that swirled and grew in intensity over head.

"Do you see Hiccup? You are powerless to do anything to save those dragons of yours. And your Night Fury is all mine." Dagur gloated "Keep watching, I don't want you to miss a thing. Hahahahahahahahaha!"

Surrounded their dragons looked done for. They were outnumbered. With Dagur laughing and believing himself victorious, the group could only pray to the Gods for a miracle. Though they had no idea that a plan had already been formulated. As the wild dragons moved in, for what everyone believed was to be the kill, there was a distinctive roar and accompanying high pitched sound. In a flash of white, something shot from the open gateway and blasted around the arena. The wild dragons stopped moving and just watched, as if waiting for something. Dagur suddenly got to his feet. Confused anger plastered over his face. He knew that beast whom was flying about the arena. He had thought it dead long ago. At least, that was what he had ordered his men to do.

"Why is that thing still alive!?" He demanded of his men "I told you idiots to destroy that pathetic excuse for a dragon months ago!"

"But sir, every time we tried it..." One soldier tried to explain.

"I don't care what it tried to do! It was supposed to be a Night Fury but you brought me a defective dragon!" Dagur bellowed.

"Your an idiot Dagur!" Came the female voice from the arena.

Everyone looked. None had realised it before, but the white dragon had something on it's back. They now realised it was a person. Dagur was enraged. It was her. That mouthy little brat. Hiccup's daughter. Whom he also believed was dead and gone. Brock noticed her first and his eyes welled up. Slowly each of the group knew what he did. Kitta was alive. Not only that, she was on the back of an unknown dragon. Astrid felt such relief, she didn't give a damn about the tears she wept. Her daughter was alive. Her baby, wasn't dead.

"You!?" Dagur fumed "How are you still alive!? You should have been dragon food!"

"Oh I'm sorry, did I mess up your plans?" Kitta taunted "Did you forget who I am Dagur?"

He growled and fisted his hands, ready to explode with rage. She was getting to him. Right under his skin. Perfect. That was exactly what she wanted.

"Your just Hiccup's pain in the ass brat daughter." He retorted viciously.

"Wrong." Kitta looked determined and proud "I am Kitta, daughter of Hiccup the Dragon Master and Fearless Astrid Hofferson! Heir to the throne of Berk..." She narrowed her green eyes at him "...and, just as great a trainer as my father!"

Gem shot a blast in the direction of Dagur's chair, aiming for him. He jumped out of the way, but she had expected that. Now it was time to show him, to show her parents, to show them all what she could do. Dagur was at the railings, screaming orders to the wild dragons.

"Kill them! Kill them all or I kill you!" He declared.

Each of them looked at him, then moved in to do his bidding. A loud whistle rang out from Kitta and they stopped. Dagur looked perplexed. What was going on? Kitta now took control of them.

"Razor! Tunnel" She commanded.

The Whispering Death began to dig, tunnelling under the spot where Dagur was. As he ordered his men to shoot, she countered their attack.

"Thyra, Banshee! Freeze and boom!" She ordered.

With a blast of air the Thunderdrum blew back dozens of men and halted their attack, while the Flightmare froze others with her misty breath. The ground beneath Dagur and his men began to crumble and sink as Razor cut through the rock. The men holding Hiccup and the group were unbalanced which gave them a chance to get to their feet and run. Razor came up behind a group of soldiers and scared them half to death. They fled like cowards, their leader shouting after them. More archers from behind Kitta took aim.

"Babe watch out!" Brock yelled.

She hadn't time to react. Thankfully though, she nor her family had to worry. The Deadly Nadder block the arrows and sent the men fleeing with his sharp spines. By now Dagur was beyond furious and out for blood. He charged into the arena, intent on killing the girl himself. Her attention was elsewhere right now, so it was the perfect moment to strike.

"Wraith, melt the ropes! Ash, cut us an exit above!" She said, not even knowing the danger that approached her.

Hiccup was about to shout, everyone saw Dagur swing for her. But Gem turned and blasted him backwards with a low power shot. Kitta saw her enemy getting up again. Now was the time.

"Shocker! Buzz him!" She commanded and the Skrill did just that.

Dagur twitched and shook as the power of lightening coursed through his body. When he fell to the ground, they believed the fight was over. Dagur's men were retreating in the face of too many dragons. Once free of their bindings, Fishlegs and the others were reunited with their faithful dragons. Hiccup freed Toothless and together with Astrid made their way into the arena to get Stormfly...and their daughter. With the supposed wild dragons now calm and watching the reunion of the others with their riders, Gem landed and Kitta dismounted. It felt good to have won. To have beaten the bad guy and saved the dragons too. She turned when she heard her name and saw her parents coming toward her. Kitta broke into a run and collided with her parents in a group hug.

"Mom, dad!" She couldn't believe she had tried to run away from this. From them "I'm so sorry, really sorry, I never meant for this to happen."

"We're just glad your alright." Astrid told her, holding her tightly " I feared we wouldn't see you again."

"Don't you ever scare us like that again sweetie, okay?" Hiccup said, holding the two women who meant the world to him as close as he could.

"Kitta!" Brock was running toward her.

"Brock!" She let go of her parent and ran to him, throwing herself into his arms.

"Oh Gods don't you ever do something this crazy again!" He half scolded "I thought I'd lose you."

"I'm sorry. I was an idiot." She replied, then leaned back and kissed him soundly.

Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other a little shocked. They hadn't thought their daughter was in love yet. Clearly, she'd hidden that well too. Fishlegs and the others came over to stand by their chief. The mood shifted from relieved reunion to wondering what to do with the dragons Dagur had been holding. Hiccup cleared his throat, getting his daughters attention.

"So, what shall we do with these dragons now that you've trained them?" He asked, half smiling with pride.

"Well, I guess firstly I should introduce you. Then maybe we could take them to Dragon Island?" Kitta said with a sheepish grin.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Astrid said.

Kitta whistled again and all eight of the dragons came to her. It truly was an amazing sight for Hiccup. His daughter had only been captive a few hours and had managed to begin to train eight dragons...not all of which were easy to train to begin with. They were all in a bit of awe over her talent.

"So firstly we have Razor the Whispering Death. Next up is Spike the Deadly Nadder." She went on "Then we have Shocker the Skrill. Up next is Banshee the Flightmare. This is Ash the Timberjack, won him over by scratching his back." She laughed "Oh and that is Thyra the Thunderdrum, Wraith is a bit playful." then she stopped and smiled "And finally, I present to you...Gem. The sub-species of Night Fury I named a Luna Fury. Pretty sure she is slightly bigger than Toothless."

Everyone watched as Gem behaved much like Toothless does so with her father. Almost purring at her and nuzzling her side, trying to get Kitta to stroke her head. She did so, smiling and making everyone think how sweet it was. There was that familiar purring sound and the Luna Fury had a look of pure affection in it's topaz eyes. Toothless came over and began to sniff around Gem, who backed up seemingly a little fearful. After all, most other dragons had always attacked her. It was odd to have one checking her out this way. The entire group laughed a little, seeing this adorable exchange between the two Fury's.

"It's okay Gem." Kitta soothed with a stroke to Gem's head "This is Toothless. I told you about him, remember. He won't hurt you."

As Gem relaxed and responded to Toothless, they talked to each other. With everyone's attention on the dragons, they had no idea that Dagur was getting to his feet again. His anger and vengefulness knew no bounds. Now he had Kitta squarely in his sights. She had ruined his entire plan. For that, she would pay dearly. Reaching over to his Crossbow, he set an arrow and took aim. Out of nowhere, Ash roared defensively. It took a split second for everyone to see what his warning was for. The arrow left the Crossbow and zipped through the air. Heading straight for Kitta. None of the group could react fast enough. Except for Gem. In a flash of white, the dragon blocked the shot, taking the arrow to her shoulder and thus protecting Kitta.

"What! No!" Dagur complained, searching for another arrow.

He didn't get the chance to find one, as he was set upon by Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnutt and Brock. Gem slumped to the ground with a whimpering moan. Toothless sniffed the wound and shook his head, growling at it. That told Hiccup it wasn't a simple arrow. There was something more going on. Kitta was on her knees beside Gem, cradling her head and tears welling in her eyes. Ruffnutt took a look at the wound, as Astrid came to her daughters side to comfort her. Hiccup walked up to Dagur and glared at him, hands fisted at his sides. Fishlegs left his son, Snotlout and Tuffnutt to keep Dagur restrained. He needed to check on that wound for himself. Though he already feared the worst, given the way Dagur was laughing.

"What was on that arrow, Dagur?" Hiccup demanded.

"Your too late Hiccup." Dagur grinned "That poison is fast acting and incurable. That worthless dragon is finished. Though it was meant for that brat of a child of yours."

In an uncharacteristic act of aggression, Hiccup slugged Dagur on the jaw. Then glared even harder at the man, while he flexed his aching fingers. Dagur was wide eyed in shock.

"Your going to tell me what I need to know Dagur. Or else, I'll shut you in a cage with those dragons you held captive and let them get even." He said with barely repressed rage.

"You...you wouldn't."

"Try me." Hiccup retorted sternly.

Gulping Dagur weighed his options and finally confessed. He'd used the liquid from a rare plant found many miles away from their current location. He also mentioned being told there was an antidote, but that he had never bothered to acquire it or to even ask what it was. Hiccup nodded to the men holding Dagur and they swiftly dragged him off to one of the empty dungeons. As he returned to his family, the scene that greeted him made his heart ache. His wife was trying to comfort their daughter as she cried and pleaded with the dragon, her body position a mirror of the time Toothless had been ill, head lain on the dragons and hands stroking. He could only hope they would be able to help the beast.

"No, no please." Kitta begged crying "Please Gem, you have to pull through. You can beat this. Please don't give up. I promised to free you and I meant it. You have to survive. You...you have to."

"Kitta, we'll do what we can. But you have to calm down." Astrid told her gently.

"Fishlegs is there any way we can get to where Dagur found this poison in time to bring back an antidote?" Hiccup asked, explaining where it was found.

"It's possible, but we don't know how it will affect Gem. After all this was meant for a human, not a dragon."

"I know. But we have to try right?" Hiccup added, placing a hand to his friends shoulder.

"You know we do."

"Would it work better to take Gem with us?" Brock asked "If we take her too, then we could halve the time it takes to get the antidote into her."

"You mean carry the dragon all the way there?" Snotlout asked.

"That would be a pain in the butt right?" Tuffnutt and Ruffnutt said together.

"What would you do if it were Barf and Belch? Or Hookfang?" Astrid countered.

That silenced their complaints. They knew they would do anything for their dragons. Snotlout especially. He'd already gone to great lengths for Hookfang. With the order from Hiccup to find something to carry Gem with, they left quietly to search. Fishlegs and Brock did their best to make Gem comfortable. But it was the look Hiccup got from his daughter and the plea, that really knocked the wind out of his lungs. From her spot beside Gem. She looked up with tear filled emerald eyes and cheeks streaked with already shed tears.

"Daddy...please...help her." She chocked out.

Hiccup came to her other side, knelt and put his arm around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She leaned into him and cried more, burrowing her face against his chest, as she grasped her mothers hand tightly. Letting his chin rest atop her head, Hiccup just held her and softly made her a promise.

"I promise, that we are going to do everything we can sweetie."

Snotlout and the twins returned in time to see this moment between the Haddock family. The emotion touched them all. Fishlegs finally cleared his throat and began to instruct the others in how to get Gem into the sheet. With a little help from the dragons, they got her ready to transport. Just before they took off, Kitta knelt by Gem's head again and pressed her forehead to the dragons.

"Hang in there Gem. It's gonna be okay. Be strong." She said, before joining her mother on Stormfly.

With Hiccup taking the lead, the six dragons and their seven new companions, took to the air and flew off into the night. Heading for the island Dagur specified. Everyone was silent during the flight. There were a few murmurs from Gem, to which Toothless replied, as if reassuring her. After what felt like a lifetime, they spotted an island on the horizon, just as the sun was beginning to rise behind them. Setting Gem down gently, they all landed and checked the area. It seemed uninhabited. Kitta got down and was at Gem's side again. The dragon seemed in worse shape than before and it terrified her.

"She's ice cold! We have to hurry Dad!" She begged.

"Alright guys, fan out see if you can find anyone." Hiccup instructed.

As if on cue, the bushes moved and a small group of dark skinned people appeared. They were dressed oddly and had strange jewellery on. The one in front appeared to hold a position similar to Valka, village elder. Both groups approached each other slowly and stopped a few feet apart. Hiccup bowed his head a little, in a respectful way.

"Hello. Sorry to drop in like this, but we need your help." He said, then gestured to Gem "This dragon was poisoned with an arrow dipped in some liquid that I was told was acquired from this island. It was said there is an antidote."

The village elder approached Gem, knelt and opened one of her eyes. Standing up and turning to face Hiccup the elder spoke with an unusual accent.

"This creature has not long to live. It likely will not survive even with the cure." He stated.

"Please!" Kitta suddenly said "Please you have to help her. I'll do anything! Whatever it takes! She...she saved my life. That arrow...was meant for me."

The elder looked at her, then nodded.

"Very well, you will need to be open of mind and spirit."

"I can do that."

"You must not doubt the treatment no matter the effects. Which will not be of joy to watch."

"I understand."

"Then you must give of yourself, in order for the cure to work." He said finally.

"Whatever you need, you can have it." Kitta said determined.

The elder then looked at Toothless, pointing to him with his staff he stated one more thing that was needed.

"The spit of this one, must be added also."

"Toothless can do that. Right bud?" Hiccup said, getting that same murmuring answer that always meant yes "So, how can we help?"

"You girl. Come here." The elder said and when Kitta was before him he grabbed her hand and sliced it with a knife, allowing the blood to flow into a bowl one of his tribe held.

"Hey what are you doing!?" Astrid demanded.

"Mom, it's okay." Kitta reassured, wincing a little "This is what he meant. A part of myself. I gladly give it to save Gem."

Astrid was astounded. Her daughter was so willing to give up even her own life force for this dragon. Hiccup was worried, but proud too. His daughter was showing him she could be a great leader one day. Being so selfless. Putting another before herself. On the behest of the elder, Toothless spat into the bowl also. The contents were mixed together and the elder added in the bloom from a nearby bush. He began to mumble strange words as he stirred, throwing into the bowl things that looked so foreign to the Berkians. The elder then handed the bowl to Kitta, saying more strange words and sweeping his staff over her head. Throwing what looked like strands of thin grass over her too. He then pointed to Gem.

"Now child, the creature must drink the contents of the bowl."

With a nod, Kitta went to Gem and knelt at her head. Gem could barely lift her eye lids let alone her head. So Kitta, mustering all the strength she had, lifted Gem's head up onto her lap. Recalling much of the things her father had shown her about Toothless, Kitta scratched under Gem's chin lightly and like magic the dragons mouth opened. Pouring the foul smelling liquid into the dragons mouth, Gem coughed and her tongue lolled out in distaste. Stroking her head, Kitta spoke soothingly to the dragon. Everyone watched with bated breath to see how long it would take for Gem to recover. The elder motioned for the arrow to be removed. Hiccup did so himself, as gently as he could.

"This will make you better Gem. I promise." Kitta said, gently stroking her hands over Gem's head "I know that stuff wasn't very nice, but medicine never is believe me. You just have to stay strong, okay? Just don't give up Gem."

"The cure may not work fast. You should all rest." The elder said "Time will be the judge."

"If it's alright with you and your people, we'll make camp right here." Hiccup asked.

"As you wish."

Setting up makeshift shelters, a camp fire and fishing for some breakfast, the group waited to see if the cure would work. Kitta never left Gem's side. Brock stayed by her, supporting and comforting her. Astrid looked at her husband and they smiled. Happy their daughter had love in her life. Snotlout promptly fell asleep and snored so much even Hookfang moved away. Tuffnutt was asleep too, his sister poking at the fire next to him. Fishlegs was busy studying the flora and fauna around their little camp. Though all in all, not many words were spoken. After another quiet bout of crying, Kitta fell asleep against Gem and Brock came back to the fire to warm up. He sat so he could still watch over her.

"Brock." Hiccup said gaining his attention "Why didn't the two of you tell us?"

"Oh, right. Uh well, that was Kitta's idea." He replied smiling a little "She's not ready for the whole village to know yet. There would only be pressure for us to marry. I want her to be ready when she's ready. Not forced into it."

"I understand. It was the same with Astrid and I." Hiccup explained "We waited till we were ready. Just so you know...we approve."

"Ah. Thank you sir." Brock blushed suddenly.

Hiccup nodded and left it at that. There was no need to say anymore after all. Brock loved Kitta and she reciprocated those feelings. They would do things in their own time. As the day worn on and the evening grew late, most of the group had drifted off to sleep. All the dragons had settled too, including Kitta's newly made friends. It was as though they were guarding her. They had seen the natives a few times that day, as they brought fruit and other foods. Some had also left offerings for Gem, as if knowing something the Berkians didn't. With everyone asleep, the beach was quiet. Gem stirred, her topaz eyes opening slowly. After looking around and realising where she was, her next thought was of Kitta. Gem nuzzled her, then licked her face, rousing the sleeping girl.

"Mmm...what..." Kitta mumbled, bleary eyes slow to focus.

Gem murmured again, lifting her head and looking more alert. Kitta blinked and then it sank in.

"Gem! Your back!" She hugged the dragons head "I'm so relieved."

Kitta got up and ran to her sleeping parents, shaking them both while excitedly calling to them.

"Mom! Dad!" She said "Wake up!"

"Kitta? What is it?" Astrid said alert in seconds, Hiccup shortly behind her "What's the matter?"

"She's awake!" Kitta beamed "Gem's awake!"

There was a soft roar from Gem and another from Toothless. The commotion slowly woke every dragon and they all began to vocalise at the news. The rest of the riders awoke due to the noise, glad that it was good news and not bad. Kitta ran back to Gem and was laughing as the dragon was up and moving around like normal. Even getting a little playful with Toothless. It was quite the adorable sight. Brock came to Kitta's side and they hugged. But her joy faded as she now knew what she had to do. It was time to bid farewell to the dragons she had named and begun to train. Everyone stood back and allowed her to do this in her own time. Kitta looked at them all. Then as bravely and cheerfully as she could, addressed them.

"Well, I promised you freedom once we got out that place...and I keep my promises." She began "I'm so happy that you all stayed with me during this whole thing, but now it's time for you to go your own ways."

She took a deep breath and gestured with her hands.

"Go! Be free!"

They looked at her for a moment. As if confused about what to do.

"Go on." She tried to laugh it off "Fly! Fly away! Go where you want to!"

Shocker was the first to leave, never looking back at all. Thyra and Banshee took off next, calling to her one last time before vanishing. Spike seemed hesitant to go, almost asking Stormfly if he could stay and being told no. He flew off stopping once to hover and look back at the beach. Razor roared in Kitta's face once and then took off at speed. Ash wasn't so quick to leave, bending right down to nudge Kitta. It hurt to do it, but she shoved his head away and with a more commanding tone told him to go, he left reluctantly calling out even once out of sight. Wraith, realising she was outnumbered by the groups dragons took to the air and fled. But Gem, refused to budge. She stayed by Kitta, looking at her expectantly.

"Your free Gem. You can go wherever you want." Kitta told her gently "I want you to be happy okay."

Gem murmured and nuzzled Kitta. She flat out refused to leave. Looking to her father for help, Hiccup came to his daughters side. He laid a hand on Gem's head, just as Toothless came to his side and seemed to be trying to tell him something in his own way. He knew now what had to be done. He glanced at his wife, who smiled and nodded, realising what they had to do. There really wasn't any other choice in the matter. Turning his daughter to face him, Hiccup smiled and Kitta's hope sprung. Would they let her have a dragon at last? Were they going to let her take Gem home?

~~~~~xxxx~~~~~

It had been three whole days and they had yet to return. Valka was beginning to worry that her son had run into trouble while trying to rescue his daughter. Berk had been fine the entire time. No attacks or ultimatums delivered. She did her best to remain calm for the people. Gobber was the only one who knew how much this was bothering her. Though many of the villagers were starting to ask where the chief was, she kept them at ease the best she could. As the sun was beginning to set for the fourth night in a row, Valka and Cloudjumper took to the air to patrol the shoreline and watch for her son. Gobber was shutting up shop and came up to the high point where he'd once sat and told stories to the young dragon riders. He watched Valka and silently prayed to Odin that Hiccup and the others would return soon.

As if in answer to said prayers, Gobber noticed some specks on the horizon that were slowly getting larger. He whistled for Grump and took flight to let Valka know what he had seen. As he informed her, the specks got closer and their shapes began to make more sense. They were dragons. Seven in total. Valka thought that odd as only six had left Berk. It wasn't worth the risk to assume it was her son and his party. So the warning was sounded and the junior riders were assembled to protect Berk. As Valka and Gobber landed in front of them, they waited for what was to come.

Would this be a fight? A group of rogue dragons? Or a reunion?

As the dragons approached, she breathed a sigh of relief when she realised this wasn't either of the first two possibles. It was the third. Having a signal sent out to let the village know it was all safe, Valka smiled as the group landed. And was also very surprised to see a new dragon in their midst. One even she had never seen before. As they all dismounted, Valka saw her granddaughter and held out her arms to the girl as she ran to her. Hugging her close she was filled with relief. She was safe. She was home. As well as her son and daughter-in-law.

"Grandmother!" Kitta squeezed her in a tight hug.

"Oh sweet girl, I'm so glad your safe and home." Valka said, then looked to her son "Are you all alright son?"

"We're fine mom. It was a bit tougher than we figured, but we're all okay." He replied, then gestured to Gem "And we have a new friend...or rather Kitta has one."

"Is that so?" Valka smiled at her granddaughter.

"That's right grandmother. Mom and dad said I could keep her. Isn't that awesome!" She beamed.

"Yes it certainly is. How about you introduce me."

Kitta turned and as if silently instructed Gem came to her side. She laid a hand on Gem's head and smiled proudly.

"Grandmother, this is Gem. Gem this is my grandmother Valka." She said.

Valka had her own way with dragons and swiftly had Gem trusting her. She laughed and stroked Gem's head and marvelled at how the dragon reacted to Kitta.

"So is Gem a Night Fury?" Valka asked Hiccup.

"Actually mom, Kitta decided she was a sub-species and named her already." He replied "Gem is a Luna fury. Isn't that right sweetie?"

"Yup." Kitta beamed at her father, then went to him and her mother hugging them both tight "Thank you. Not just for coming to find me, but for letting me keep Gem."

"Your welcome sweetie." Hiccup told her "We would always come to find you."

"And we really didn't have a choice about letting you keep Gem, she pretty much decided that for us." Astrid added.

Everyone laughed. It was a good feeling to have everyone back where they belonged and Kitta now knew for sure, this was where she was meant to be. It took her running away, being kidnapped and thrown into a dragon cage, flying to an unknown island and begging a people who didn't have a reason to help to do just that...for her to realise she was and had always been where she belonged. Looking around her she couldn't picture life without all these people. Now she also couldn't see her life without Gem either. Brock came to her side and she finally kissed him in front of the entire village. That secret was out now. But she was fine with it. Hiccup cleared his throat and got everyone's attention.

"I'd like to make an announcement. I've decided to step down..." He began, Kitta froze "...as head of the Berk Dragon Training Academy and pass the reins onto my daughter, Kitta. You've proven yourself sweetie. I think you'll be a great leader."

Kitta let out a breath. He had scared her for a moment. But being the new head of the academy wasn't too scary or daunting. She could do that. Sure. After all, how hard could it be compared to training eight dragons in just a few hours? She held herself a little straighter and looked at every face around her. Each one looking pleased for her and showing they believed she could do it.

"Thank you dad. I'll do my best to make you proud." She replied confidently.

"Kitta, you already did that." He told her "You've made both of us proud."

Everyone around her cheered, her parents stood together proudly smiling and Brock lifted her up high and spun her around. Many of the dragons present fired into the sky in celebration. Setting her down, Kitta turned to Gem and hugged her. Brock then suggested a flight around the island before they lost all the light. Kitta couldn't have agreed more. Mounting their dragons, Gem and Rubble took to the air and the young couple flew off for a lap of the island. Gem's distinctive call resounding through the air. To which Toothless replied.

Everything was finally in place. Everyone was where they should be. And life on Berk could only get better.

**The End**


End file.
